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Aria, a simple and caring young woman, suddenly finds herself caught in a secret marriage with Dorian Calderon, a widower known for his cold and possessive nature. It all started with an accident involving her younger sister, Mira, who ran over Dorian's twin sister, Lina, who was pregnant at the time. As a result of the accident, Lina lost the child she was carrying and also her ability to have children. In an attempt to protect his sister's reputation, Dorian mistakenly believes Aria was the one responsible for the accident, even though she wasn't the one at fault. In the confusion, Dorian feels the need to "fix" things by forcing Aria to bear him a child, believing it will make up for Lina's loss. However, the truth is that this decision was orchestrated by Dorian's parents, who intentionally sacrificed Aria to protect Mira's career, which was at risk. Now, Aria is forced to live a life in a marriage built on lies and manipulation, with a man who is not only arrogant but also full of secrets and oppressive power. In this forced union, Aria struggles to find her own path while being trapped in a relationship full of tension, deceit, and unspoken feelings.
Aria could still remember the smell of antiseptic lingering in the hospital hallway. Cold. Sterile. Unforgiving-just like the man who now stood before her, arms crossed, eyes unreadable.
"You will marry me," Dorian Calderon said without a trace of emotion, as if the words meant nothing, as if her life wasn't about to be torn apart by them.
She stared at him in disbelief, her lips parting to protest, but no sound came out. How could she respond to such a sentence? Marriage? To him?
Dorian was the last person she ever imagined being tied to. Cold, ruthless, and far too powerful for someone like her to ever defy. The Calderon family name was one that made even the most influential people in the city pause. And Dorian? He was the shadow behind the throne, the one whose words carried consequences that could ruin lives.
And now he wanted hers.
"W-What are you talking about?" she finally managed, voice trembling.
"You heard me." He stepped closer, his towering frame casting a shadow over her smaller one. "You'll marry me. No negotiations, no arguments."
Aria shook her head, heart pounding. "This doesn't make any sense. Why would I-"
"You know why," he cut in sharply. "You hit Lina."
"I didn't!" Her voice cracked, eyes widening. "I wasn't even driving. It was Mira-"
"I don't care," he snapped. "You're the one who took the blame, aren't you? That makes you responsible. And someone will pay for what happened to my sister."
Aria's knees weakened, but she forced herself to stand tall. She had taken the blame. No one had asked her to-but the moment Mira had shown up at their apartment, blood on her hands and tears streaking her cheeks, Aria had known what she had to do. Their parents hadn't hesitated. They had looked at her with cold eyes and a single command: "Fix this."
It was always Aria. Always the one to clean up the messes, to sacrifice.
Dorian's voice lowered, becoming more dangerous. "Lina lost her child. Her womb. Her future. And she won't get justice unless you give me what I want."
"And what exactly do you want from me?" she whispered.
"A child," he said bluntly. "You will marry me and give me an heir."
The words struck her like a slap. Her breath caught, her stomach turned.
"You're insane," she whispered.
He didn't blink. "No. I'm desperate."
She wanted to laugh, to scream, to run. But she couldn't. Because he held the power. He knew she had taken the fall for a crime she didn't commit. And if she refused?
He would drag Mira into the fire instead.
"What happens if I say no?" she asked, her voice like glass on the verge of breaking.
Dorian's gaze hardened. "Then I go to the police and give them evidence that your sister was behind the wheel that night. The hospital cameras, the parking lot footage-yes, I have it. I've always had it. I was waiting to see how far you'd go."
She froze, horror crawling through her veins.
He had known.
All this time, he had known the truth-and let her believe otherwise. Let her believe she was shielding Mira from justice. But in truth, he had only been testing her. Playing her like a pawn in his carefully crafted revenge.
"You're a monster," she whispered, voice thick with fury.
"Perhaps," he said with a shrug. "But monsters don't lose. Make your choice, Aria. Either you marry me and your sister walks free... or you refuse and watch her go to prison for vehicular manslaughter."
She looked down at her hands. They were shaking. Her world had always been small-work, home, Mira. She didn't ask for much. She had dreams once. Of opening her own flower shop. Of falling in love the way people did in books-with soft kisses and warm hands and whispered promises.
But that was no longer her life.
"I'll do it," she said finally, the words tasting like blood. "I'll marry you."
Dorian's expression didn't change. No satisfaction. No victory. Only steel.
"Good," he said. "We'll keep it quiet. No one needs to know. Not yet."
"Why?" she asked bitterly. "Ashamed to be seen with me?"
He tilted his head, eyes narrowing. "Ashamed? No. I just don't want anyone asking why the woman who ruined my sister's life is now sharing my bed."
She flinched. The cruelty in his words pierced deeper than she expected.
Dorian turned to leave but stopped at the door. Without looking back, he said, "Be ready by Friday. We marry in private. No ceremony. No guests."
And then he was gone.
Aria stood in the silence, her body shaking as tears blurred her vision. She pressed her hands to her mouth to stop herself from sobbing. Her life had just been sold for a lie. And the worst part?
No one had even bothered to ask if she wanted to be saved.
As the door shut behind Dorian, Aria's phone buzzed. A new message.
Mira: Don't hate me for this. Please. I didn't know they'd do this to you.
Her blood ran cold.
They?
Her fingers hovered above the screen as her mind raced.
Just how deep did this betrayal go?
A tiny, innocent baby girl was found curled up near a dumpster behind the city hospital. Her cries pierced the night, but no one cared. Wrapped in a threadbare blanket-her only witness to a betrayal no one saw. Elsewhere in the city, another baby girl slept peacefully in the arms of an elegant woman, in a bed adorned with gold. Her name was Celestine Avarelle, daughter of the wealthiest and most powerful family in the country. She grew up with love, the best education, and all the luxuries money could buy. They were twins. But only one was acknowledged by the world. While Celestine learned to play piano and dance ballet, her twin-Seraphina Vale-clung to life with bloodied hands. She was raised in the dark alleys of orphanages and the streets of the city. Poverty was her mother. Humiliation and loneliness were her family. But Seraphina never gave up. Behind her cold gaze burned a fire that never faded-a fire that demanded answers. Who was she? Why was she discarded? And most of all... who was to blame? As fragments of the past began to surface, Seraphina's world changed forever. A misplaced medical record, an old letter, and a reopened scar-all led to one truth: she was the daughter who was switched, discarded on purpose to protect the Avarelle family's name. Now, Seraphina stands between two choices: take back the life that should have been hers... or exact revenge in a way that will change their world forever. Because not everything that is thrown away stays lost. Some return to burn everything down.
After a painful breakup with her boyfriend of two years who coldly told her to her face that he couldn't keep dating her because she was too uptight--In a moment of anger and defiance, Anna decided to throw caution to the wind for one reckless night. She headed to the wildest club in Texas, determined to lose herself in the chaos. But fate had other plans. To her shock, she ran into her ex-boyfriend at the club. Desperate to save face, she made a split-second decision and approached a stranger, pretending he was her new boyfriend. What she never anticipated was the magnetic pull she would feel towards him or the fact that she'd end up going home with this mystery man. Soon enough, the real surprise hit her--this stranger wasn't just anyone; he was her new boss. What begins as a night of rebellion spirals into a whirlwind of forbidden attraction, societal pressure and hidden affairs. And now there are so many things at stake. Find out how this story unfolds.
6 years ago, Lydia suffered a brutal betrayal orchestrated by her own husband and step-sister, who drugged her and framed her. In a twist of fate, she ended up having a one-night stand with a stranger. Don't even remember what he looked like. Later, in the throes of death, she discovered the truth about her mother's death all those years ago. In the blink of an eye, she lost everything. 6 years later, Lydia returned with her genius son, vowing to exact revenge on all her enemies! Little did she know, she encountered an incredibly familiar man at the airport! *** The man was briskly pushing open the door to the restroom, heading to the urinal. Even with such a mundane action, he did it with unparalleled elegance and grace. Lydia, following him in a daze, saw his fierce lower body and suddenly snapped back to reality. She let out a high-pitched scream, instinctively covering her eyes with her hands, her cheeks flushed, and stood there stiffly, unsure of what to do. Lambert furrowed his brows slightly but remained calm as he continued to relieve himself. The sound of water hitting the urinal made Lydia's face even redder. She angrily shouted, "You pervert!" Little did Lydia know that Lambert, seeing her in this state, had a flicker of recognition in his eyes. Memories from many years ago flashed through his mind, and his heart couldn't help but stir. It was her!
After two years of marriage, Sadie was finally pregnant. Filled with hope and joy, she was blindsided when Noah asked for a divorce. During a failed attempt on her life, Sadie found herself lying in a pool of blood, desperately calling Noah to ask him to save her and the baby. But her calls went unanswered. Shattered by his betrayal, she left the country. Time passed, and Sadie was about to be wed for a second time. Noah appeared in a frenzy and fell to his knees. "How dare you marry someone else after bearing my child?"
Allison fell in love with Ethan Iversen, the soon-to-be Alpha of the Moonlight Crown pack. She always wanted him to notice her. Meanwhile, Ethan was an arrogant Alpha who thought a weak Omega could not be his companion. Ethan's cousin, Ryan Iversen, who came back from abroad and was the actual heir of the pack, never tried to get the position nor did he show any interest in it. He was a popular playboy Alpha but when he came back to the pack, one thing captured his eyes and that was Allison.
Elena, once a pampered heiress, suddenly lost everything when the real daughter framed her, her fiancé ridiculed her, and her adoptive parents threw her out. They all wanted to see her fall. But Elena unveiled her true identity: the heiress of a massive fortune, famed hacker, top jewelry designer, secret author, and gifted doctor. Horrified by her glorious comeback, her adoptive parents demanded half her newfound wealth. Elena exposed their cruelty and refused. Her ex pleaded for a second chance, but she scoffed, “Do you think you deserve it?” Then a powerful magnate gently proposed, “Marry me?”
Joelle thought she could change Adrian's heart after three years of marriage, but she realized too late that it already belonged to another woman. "Give me a baby, and I'll set you free." The day Joelle went into labor, Adrian was traveling with his mistress on his private jet. "I don't care whom you love. My debt is paid. From now on, we have nothing to do with each other." Not long after Joelle left, Adrian found himself begging on his knees. "Please come back to me."